Rogers' MLB whispers: Flowers on track for Sox

The White Sox improved their catching situation with the addition of Ramon Castro, but they would go with Tyler Flowers if they lost A.J. Pierzynski to injury. Broadcaster Hawk Harrelson calls Flowers "one of the strongest men in baseball," and he's showing it by hitting .280 with seven homers and 25 RBIs at Double-A Birmingham. He scored 34 runs in his first 44 games, thanks in part to a nice batting eye. He drew nine more walks than he had strikeouts in May (27-18). The Sox have missed Javier Vazquez more than they would admit, but Flowers looks like a future All-Star. ... Charlie Manuel is a smart man. The Phillies walked Adrian Gonzalez seven times in 13 plate appearances in sweeping the Padres last week. ... Fausto Carmona's 2007 season looks like more of a fluke every time he goes to the mound. His career record has slid below .500 even though he was 19-8 that season. ... The minute the Cubs made Michael Barrett the bad guy for the ...